PORTLAND, Ore. — Early Monday evening, dozens of protestors gathered outside the Portland State University library and flooded the adjacent park blocks, waving flags, chanting and giving speeches. They joined demonstrators at more than a dozen U.S. college campuses in the latest of protests over the war in Gaza.
At PSU, the combined group of students, faculty and staff have several specific demands, including calls for PSU to cut ties with aerospace company Boeing, which has reportedly supplied military hardware to Israel. As a result, PSU announced last week it would pause accepting financial gifts from Boeing.
“I was very confused ... like, why cut ties with Boeing?" said PSU President Ann Cudd on Monday. "Over time I’ve heard that much more loudly by many different people, and I’ve decided to say let's pause on accepting gifts from Boeing — because we don't have any investments in Boeing, let me be clear on that."
Boeing donated $150,000 to Portland State University to name a classroom and provides about $28,000 a year for scholarships, the school newspaper PSU Vanguard reported. There is otherwise nothing at Boeing from which PSU could divest.
Demonstrators also demanded that the university call for an immediate ceasefire, eliminate public safety officers, and stop selling Israeli products on campus.
PDX Hillel, an organization that supports Jewish undergraduate students, sent KGW the following statement:
“While students have a right to protest, they do not have the right to intimidate or threaten Jewish students — their classmates and peers. Jewish students have the right to learn in a safe environment. No student should feel as though they must hide their full identity to experience our campus environments, nor should their basic safety ever be jeopardized.
"We call upon our campus partners to take action in ensuring safe campuses and in condemning these instances of antisemitic intimidation. Our most important priority is keeping Jewish students safe — first, foremost, and always.”
On Monday PSU told the demonstrators to leave after they vandalized the library building with spray paint and there were reports of them harassing students.
“We are trying to thread a fine line to allow and encourage debate, free speech, (and) academic freedom, so that this emotionally difficult world issue can be debated,” Cudd said. “If they commit any crimes in the course of that, it could definitely result in student arrests.”
Amid similar protests across the country, some colleges have canceled in-person classes and even commencement. There are no plans for that at PSU. The library closed Monday due to the protests and will reopen Tuesday morning.
In May, the university will hold a moderated forum on Boeing's involvement with PSU to see if the president's decision to pause accepting financial gifts from the company will become permanent.